Sesame Beginnings

Sesame Beginnings is a line of products and a video series, spun-off the children's television series "Sesame Street". The line is targeted towards infants and their parents, and products are designed to increase family interactivity.

Product line

The line was launched mid-2005 in Canada, with a line of products exclusive to a family of Canadian retailers that includes Loblaws, Fortinos, and Zehrs. The initial offering included apparel, health and body, home, and seasonal products.

Soon after, the line expanded to products, including Random House books, available in the United States. Target is the primary retailer for the items in the US. Other "Sesame Beginnings" licensors include Crown Crafts (bedding), Fisher-Price (infant toys), BBC (footware), Children's Apparel Network (department and specialty store layette, newborn and infant apparel), Hamco, Blue Ridge, Baby Boom, and AD Sutton.

All products in the "Sesame Beginnings" line are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5. Products ranked Level 1 are for birth to 6 months, Level 2 are for 6 to 12 months, Level 3 for 12 to 18 months, Level 4 targets 18 to 24 months, and Level 5 aims for 24-36 months.

DVD series

The first "Beginnings" videos were in stores March 2006.

; Beginning Together: Brandy and her daughter Sy'rai appear in the video.; Make Music Together: Wayne Brady and his daughter Maile appear in the video.

Cast

* Kevin Clash as Baby Elmo
* Bill Barretta as Elmo's dad "Louie"
* Fran Brill as Baby Prairie Dawn, Baby Zoe
* Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Prairie Dawn's mom
* Matt Vogel as Baby Big Bird
* Pam Arciero as Big Bird's aunt "Nani Bird"
* Tyler Bunch as Baby Cookie Monster
* Rickey Boyd as Cookie Monster's grandma
* Kathryn Mullen as Baby Abby Cadabby
* Tim Lagasse as Baby Ernie
* Anthony Asbury as Baby Bert
* Timothy Lagasse as Baby Grover
* Charlotte Spivey as Elmo's mom "Nina"
* Annie Evans as Zoe's mom
* Jennifer Barnhart as Grover's mom
* Tajja Isen as Baby Oscar
* Candi Milo as Oscar's mom
* Nancy Cartwright as Baby Herry
* Tara Strong as Baby Slimey
* Nika Futterman as Baby Sloppy
* Lucy Liu as Baby Count Von Count
* Christie Cavanaugh as Baby Snuffy
* Kath Soucie as Baby Maria
* Cheryl Chase as Baby Gabi
* Tom Kenny as Zoe's dad
* Bill Fagerbakke as Cookie Monster's grandpa
* Elizabeth Daily as Baby Gordon
* Chantal Strand as Baby Miles
* Annie Mumolo as Baby Susan
* Beth Payne as Baby Bob
* Jeannie Elias as Baby Humphrey
* Michael Cera as Natasha
* Ty Olsson as Baby Telly, Baby Gina, Oscar's dad, Grover's dad, Prairie Dawn's dad, Big Bird's uncle

Crew

* Jocelyn Hassenfeld, producer
* Dionne Nosek, producer
* Kevin Clash, co-producer, director
* Christine Ferraro, writer
* Liz Nealon, Executive Vice President, Creative Director, Sesame Workshop
* Rosemarie T. Truglio, Vice President Education and Research, Sesame Workshop
* Anna E. Housley Juster, Director of Content, Sesame Workshop
* Sandblast Productions
* Handcranked Productions

Books

There were some "Sesame Street" book published before "Beginnings", starring the characters as babies. These books included photography of puppet-like models created of the characters. In contrast, "Beginnings" books feature flat colour illustrations of the characters.

* "Cookie Kisses" (with Baby Cookie Monster, level 1)
* "" (with Baby Grover, level 2)
* "" (with Baby Zoe, level 2)
* "" (with Baby Elmo, level 1)
* "" (with Baby Cookie Monster, level 1)
* "Snap! Button! Zip!" (with Baby Zoe, level 3)
* "Cookie Rhyme, Cookie Time" (with Baby Cookie Monster, level 4)
* "Hello! Good-bye!" (with Baby Ernie, level 3)
* "Clang-Clang! Bang-Bang!" (with Baby Grover, level 1)
* "So Big!" (with Baby Elmo, level 2)
* "Baby Faces" (with Baby Zoe, level 1)
* "Cookie See! Cookie Do!" (with Baby Cookie, level 3)
* "Pat-A-Cake and Other First Baby Games" (with Baby Elmo and Baby Zoe, level 4)
* "Peekaboo! I See You!" (with Baby Big Bird, level 2)
* "Sing a Song of Sixpence" (with Baby Zoe and Baby Ernie, level 5)

History of the line

Sherrie Westin, Executive Vice President, Sesame Workshop comments: "Our own research showed that Sesame Street videos were among those frequently viewed by the under two set, in spite of the fact that the content and curriculum of Sesame Street is designed for ages 2-5. With the Sesame Beginnings DVDs, we're providing parents and caregivers of children under two with content specifically designed to use media as a tool to further adult/child interaction." [cite news | title=Introducing Sesame Beginnings | date=2005 | publisher=Sesame Workshop | url=http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamebeginnings/mini/about.php]

The same "underviewing" of "Sesame Street" is what had earlier inspired show producers to add in the very young-targeted "Elmo's World" segment.

The concept of the "Sesame Street" cast as babies was not entirely new, as "baby-ized" versions of characters were available as toys since at least the early-2000s. Many likened the line to previous series like "Muppet Babies".

Advisory Board

"Beginnings", like all Sesame Workshop projects, included an advisory committee of "national child development and media experts" [cite news | title=Introducing Sesame Beginnings | date=2005 | publisher=Sesame Workshop | url=http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamebeginnings/mini/about.php]
* Daniel R. Anderson, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst
* Rachel Barr, Ph.D., Georgetown University
* Lori A. Custodero, D.M.A., Teachers College, Columbia University
* Claire Lerner, L.C.S.W., ZERO TO THREE
* Kyle Pruett, M.D., Yale University School of Medicine
* Claudia A. Saad, M.A., CCC-SLP, American Speech-Language Hearing Association

Controversy and criticism

The production of DVDs and other screen-based media for children under the age of two is extremely controversial. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under two be kept away from screen media and Sesame Beginnings has been criticized by a number of early childhood development experts who point to research suggesting that television viewing by babies can harm language development and sleep patterns. A March 21, 2006 article in The Washington Post quoted Harvard Medical School psychologist Susan Linn as saying "There is no evidence that media is beneficial for babies, and they are starting to find evidence that it may be harmful. Until we know for sure, we shouldn't risk putting them in front of the television."

Sesame Workshop has countered such criticism by pointing to their partnership with Zero to Three, a respected American nonprofit child-development and advocacy organization, to produce the DVDs and also that they were extensively researched and tested by respected experts in childhood development. However, one of Zero to Three's original founders, noted pediatrian T. Berry Brazelton, was among the signatories of a letter of protest that was submitted to Zero to Three calling on the organization to disassociate itself with the project. [cite news | title=Experts Rip 'Sesame' TV Aimed at Tiniest Tots | date=2006 | publisher=The Washington Post | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/20/AR2006032001801.html]

References

External links

* [http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamebeginnings/ Sesame Beginnings] , official site
* [http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/sesamebeginnings/index.html Random House: Sesame Beginnings books]
* [http://www.zerotothree.org/ Zero to Three] , production partner
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/20/AR2006032001801.html Washing Post Article - "Experts Rip 'Sesame' TV Aimed at Tiniest Tots"]
* NPR Talk of the Nation: [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5319925 'Sesame Beginnings' Targets Baby TV Viewers] , 3 April 2006